From Where You Are
by Jessesgirl1549
Summary: They only had a home for a few months at a time until the Chiroptera found them, yet it was enough time for them to be attached.Knowing the sadness Haji suffers every time, Saya attempts to apologize. Only to learn something important. Some mature themes.


**A/n: Inspired by the Lifehouse song with the same title. I don't own Blood Plus.**

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His eyes were open in a instance. From miles away, moments before, he had heard them approaching rapidly. Yet not even his speed could have them prepared in time-

-Suddenly, the warmth clinging to his arm stirred very lightly. He looked to her.

She was still asleep. That was no good. In addition, she was not easily woken-which, was also not good either. At the same time, when he woke her it still took seconds of explanation-that they needed-for her to be at the level he was. Though, if had she remained sleeping and he had gone it alone, than the consequences would have been worse.

_"Up,"_ Haji's urgent gaze told her while she sat up, rubbing her eye and looking at him with question. She understood as he tossed her sheathed saber to her while he quickly dressed. He inclined his head suggesting she do the same.

Saya was in motion. She heard the roars, emitting a mere mile from their location, when she finally had finished dressing. Her partner had already thrown his trousers, shirt and shoes on long before her feet hit the hardwood floor, at the moment he was shouldering his cello case and wielding a bouquet of daggers.

They exchanged a quick glance, she nodded and he was gone to head the beasts off.

Milliseconds apart, the sound of the snaps on her boots and the sounds of a blade cutting flesh were distinguished due to her sensitive hearing.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

Her resounding footsteps were late as every time the noise hit her eardrums, the foot that made the noise had moved on to another part of the floor.

She ran. She crossed the threshold of their home-a single drop of red wetness fell gracefully to the carpet, weak light from the lantern hung in the doorway, caused a silvery glare from the metal the drop had ran off of - and a sudden gust of cool air hit her face as she tore into the weak dawn. Her heart pounding, calling for a answer. Her ears ringing to separate the cries of the animals, from the quiet answer her heart searching for.

_"Where are you?"_ Saya's long hair swung about her face while she ran toward the song of battle and bloodshed; She knew, but the foolish nature of her would ask anyway, worry though it was not necessary.

She found the trees broken around the clearing, severed appendages and bodies laid scattered. None, to her relief, belonged to the one that mattered. Nimbly she avoided the debris and evaded the unthinking beasts that had been left behind. Held out to her left side, the flat, sharp blade became soiled as she moved and more bodies fell to her feet. Here and there she switched the blade in her hands, ducking here, spinning there. More and more the monsters came for her, more and more the lush green grass was stained red.

Alone Haji stood in the decent clearing, he was surrounded by roughly a dozen and a half. The nearing dawn sent rays over the horizon, causing each silver cross he sunk into the demons' grotesque, ape-like bodies, to glimmer before they were deep in the flesh of the monster. Two, or three would fall and give him a foot or two of space for himself, a mere second before more filled the place and advanced on him. Seeing the display of the Knight with his impromptu shield of the cello case and fist of knives-fighting his best with the odds against him - without breaking a sweat or expression of fear or weakness, made Saya proud.

A few Chiroptera were sent flying back, Haji's leg recoiled after his foot had connected with the front beast's abdomen. He then slid the cello case back on to his shoulder, flipped a knife upside down in his palm and ran into the hooded yellow eye of a monster behind him, and bashed its head in with the case.

He wet his lips, rolling his right shoulder, where one monster had sank its claws, and happened upon her image as he turned his head to the south. Faintly, she smiled at him. He returned the action with a wave of the few daggers he had left.

_"Don't just stand there."_

Saya turned her sword flat and held it to the side again as she moved through the crowd of six that he was closed in by. One fell. She jumped to the center, she stood back to back with her Chevalier. As she ran her thumb down the side of the blade once more, she turned her face.

_"Good boy," _her lips brushed Haji's blood splattered cheek.

His eyebrows knitted together, one of the Chiroptera rammed against the cello case. He shook his head, _"Pay attention."_

Proving she was, her head fell back before she charged, a thunderous roar louder than the Chiropterans was accompanied by eyes the color of blood_._

"Yyyyyyyyaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Within no more than fifteen minutes that the two of them eliminated every one of the beasts.

Saya watched as he gazed thoughtfully out the door, to the rest of their home, while she dressed his torn shoulder. Memories of their time together, in that place they had began to call "home", seemed to play in his sad blue-grey eyes. She bound the bandages tight on his healing wound. His fingers dug into the sheets on her bed, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"Sorry," the first spoken word of the morning was an apology. For the fact that they had to leave that place, or for the discomfort she caused him, he was not entirely sure.

_"Sorry,_" she said again. Her fingers ran down the smooth - now clean-side of his face, resting on the cheek she had kissed during the battle.

"It is fine," he lied for her sake.

Her warm index and ring fingers slid down to his jaw, she turned his face gently toward his and smiled sadly at the way he looked. His expression was somber, the nice windows of his soul iced over, telling her that he was no longer with her - but in his own mind with his own thoughts. He was so sad, she too wished that they could have stayed longer. It seemed that every time they found some place for themselves, whether it was a small apartment with the kitchen, living room, and bedroom in one, or a large spacious manor that they called home - the Chiroptera always found them. And they always had to leave.

Haji thought back on the promises they made that implied they might have been staying there in their current home for a long period of time.

All of the memories of first coming to the plantation and fixing it up made him feel like they had happened decades earlier, when in reality they were just a few simple months ago. He contemplated time, how it passed so differently when life was factored in. He wondered how their lives might have been if the two of them were not on their life-long quest to destroy the Chiroptera. Would time pass slowly and their lives be fuller - or, would their existence still be the same fast-paced eternity that it was? The answer was glaring, but it did not stop him from wishing the that they could live slow, full lives together in that home of theirs.

Saya could not read Haji's mind as he stared blankly around the room and out the window, yet she could tell he was very deep in serious thought about their time there. She wished he would tell her what he was thinking, of course she could have asked him, but he was not a talker and she did not to provoke any ill feelings that might have came out in his words. So she sat quietly with him while he reminisced their memories that occurred in that home and the ones before it, and most likely regretted being with her, and rued their upcoming departure. Her mind filled with her own idle thoughts.

Haji's lidded stare was interrupted as he blinked, eyes focusing again. A pleasant warmth radiated against his skin as a light hand slid from the side of his neck to his wounded shoulder. Careful not to disturb his injury, Saya gently rubbed his shoulder, at the same time turning his face toward hers with an admiring glimmer in her eyes. The young man was flustered at his equally youthful Queen's attention. Feeling the limelight was unfamiliar, he tried his best not to squirm or fidget - though, he rarely did - under her gaze. He held his breath, pressed his lips together and held still while she - as she appeared to be - examined him.

How had her friend become so... _mature_?

No trace of childhood roundness could be found on his snow-white face, there were fine angular symmetrical features of a handsome man. With hooded, slits for emotion filled, blue-grey eyes, a slightly full set of cool lips, a high bridged nose and a subtly, strong angled jaw. His longish slightly, wavy black hair fell to his shoulders and over his right eye, she brushed it away from his face - in the same fashion he did with her hair - and behind his ear before her eyes looked the rest of his body. He had become very different from the way he had been when they first met, scrawny and small for his age, he had grown tall and lean with reserved strength and unassuming muscles.

Saya's Chevalier had grown up long before that night, and though she was aware of the changes, it was at that instance that the physical changes, the thick tension, and the look about him drew her closer.

Haji shifted slightly, leaning aways back on the hand behind him, the other hand moved instinctively to hold her by the waist as she moved toward him. She had leaned in as if to kiss him, her hand had stopped moving on his shoulder and she held him very tightly.

"Saya?"

She pulled back, seeing what she had done and reminders of their history suddenly donned on her.

She could remember the times when she thought little of the man beside her, when he was but a mere preteen boy and not a single person would give him a second glance. Now, women would stop in their tracks to stare at him, other men would either offer him a "tip of the hat" - some kind of kind acknowledgement - or an envious sneer. There were times Saya could call, back when she was the taller one, when he had to look up to her. Presently, her height was no longer towering compared to his and her neck hurt from trying to meet his gaze. And there was once a time when he was simply her friend, not a protector... not the lover she knew she wanted him to be.

But, Haji _was _her protector and he _still _was her friend. Time had made it possible for the two of them to be so. Why fight what she wanted him to be? Why fight what they were _meant _to be?

He tried hard not to, but Haji winced under the pressure she was putting on his shoulder.

_That was why._

They were hunting Chiroptera and seeking to destroy Diva. They had already spent too much time in that home, waiting for the Red Shield to find information on Diva, instead of finding it themselves. They had too much to worry about, being "together" would complicate it all. Feelings would get in the way, and feelings were weakness. Saya was still struggling to be as strong as her human blood-drinking sister.

"M'sorry," she mumbled, dropping her hands to her sides.

Haji rolled his shoulder and watched the spark that had shone in her eyes fade away, it had been an ember of deeper meaning. She was shutting herself away again, like she had in Russia nearly fifty years before. He hoped she would not push him away this time like she had before. He took lifted her chin and that time _he _looked _her _over.

From the moment he had been given to her, she had not aged past seventeen years old. Her smooth heart-shaped face, elegant Oriental traits. Soft pink full lips, long eyelashes, porcelain skin, fierce - yet soft - burgundy eyes and - sometimes - cruel smile. She was fragile but strong for her slender and small build, which helped her stay agile and quick in battle. She changed her hair now and again, keeping it long, cutting it short, since she had awoken recently, she had decided to keep it long again. All and all, Saya never physically changed. When he reached the age where they could be looked upon without judgement of their relationship, he regarded her inability to age with thankfulness. Even if sometimes she did not.

"You don't realise it, do you?" Haji asked her with half closed eyes. She did not answer him, but listened and enjoyed his large hands cradling her face. He shook his head, he wanted her to answer him, "do you realise it Saya?"

"... You don't want to leave here," she said in a soft voice, "you want a real home and you want a normal life."

His heart swelled. She looked away. Saya knew that was not the answer he wanted, although they both knew it was the truth.

"No," the blue-eyed Chevalier's mouth brushed over her top lip. He had never been so bold. Not since his rebellious childhood. It seemed as if he was pained not being able to give her a true kiss as he had to retrain himself to say to her, "it is not a crime to show affection to someone," he chuckled, " forgive me, I know I am not one to talk."

Saya did not verbally respond to him. Instead, she kissed him very gently, her pashes moving softer and softer to where their lips are barely even touching. Before they almost lost touch, her fingers threaded through his hair and she brought him closer, pressing her lips against his firmly. With no intent on resisting, Haji moved his legs back on the bed, sitting on his hunches while she moved to sitting on his lap, holding by her thighs and enjoying the powerful kiss she was giving him. Saya did not care what the transition in their relationship would cost them later, if that was to be their last night in their home, she wanted them to remember it as the night they were lovers for the first time.

With heads spinning and their conscious' disconnecting, Saya straddled her Chevalier, who was half lying down and half sitting up against the headboard. Panting, she broke away from his mouth and moved her hair behind her ear and smoothed his bangs away from his sweaty forehead. Surprisingly, he smiled at her, caressing her cheek to encourage her on. Separately from the thoughts of just wanting to make love to him, at the back of her mind, Saya noted that every rare time he smiled, his face was all angles and lopsided smirks - and she liked that.

Haji's hand was firmly cupping the back of her head as he brought her to him for a solid kiss, "Saya?"

For some reason, she chortled softly against his mouth and unexpectedly said, "You're so cold Haji."

"I'm sorry," he replied. His smile faded, removing his hands from her, believing she was uncomfortable and wanted to stop. He wet his lips, his chest moving heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

The places where his icy hands had been felt, the now unfamiliar feel of, cold air and the Queen seized them again and put them back where they were. Her legs clamped around his waist instinctively, as the subconscious fear he might leave washed through her. Saya assured him quickly, "I don't want to stop! This is our last time home, I want this now Haji."

There was a pause, Haji shook his head and gently traced a circle on her lower back. His face had fallen back to its usual somber expression, but he half smiled. He kissed her lightly and stroked her long tresses.

"A last night home? Saya, don't do this as a parting occasion. You're my home Saya and if this is a simple gesture to remember my home, then it would mean you intend to leave me. Saya, love me tonight, only if you want me. Only if in your heart, you truly wish to. I will wait if it is not to be," Haji told her.

Saya brought her sweetheart's large hand to rest above her heart - it was beating hard, and she placed her hand on his own heart - before closing her eyes and continuing where they had stopped. Without hesitation, Haji moved his mouth with hers and rolled them over so he was above her.

Days later, after being apart for separate missions directed by the Red Shield, Saya stood facing the window in the empty briefing room at Headquarters. She felt the presence of another, but heard no footsteps, nor the door open or close. Soon two arms encircled her and a cool cheek nuzzled against her neck.

"Welcome home Haji," Saya whispered, placing her hand over his.

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The stars twinkled above in the skies that were painted with blues and dark violets of the Summer night. He sat on the fire escape beside her window, unchanged for the most part, looking in at her as she thrived in her new world. Without him.

She had never changed before. But, now she was gone. Her smile changed, her persona, her strength, who she was. She was gone to him, yet still there.

_"-then it would mean you intend to leave me-"_ but she had made love to him. She promised that no matter where she was, no matter what happened, she would always forgive him, she would always be there like he was always there for her. He knew he had done wrong by leaving her, he knew it was not her fault she had changed, but he was so angry. He was so lonely.

Haji touched the glass, she was talking to a friend on the telephone. He imagined being beside her, being the friend talking to her and making her smile and laugh. He could almost feel her in his arms, the flutter of her heart. But even though he could feel it, and they were in mere physical feet from one another. They were worlds apart, their hearts miles away from one another.

He hung his head and looked away, thinking about all the years they spent erased from her memories and missing just being with her.

Slowly, his fingers clenched the fabric of his pant-leg. Tears threatened to fall for the first time in many years. _I want to go home,_ he thought.

- And he would. Haji looked back at the Saya that was there now.

Even if she did not remember him, or their love, she was still his home, as he was hers - and no matter how long it would take, he would help her remember that. As she would always be his Queen, he swore to help her remember and hoped that deep down she knew: wherever she went, he missed her and wished she was with him.

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_I miss the years that were erased  
I miss the way the sunshine would light up your face  
I miss all the little things  
I never thought that theyd mean everything to me  
Yeah, I miss you  
And I wish you were here_

_"From Where You are"- Lifehouse_

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A/n: A bit long, I'm sorry. I hope it didn't bore you all. If it did, again, I apologize and thank you for reading anyway. Please let me know what you think, I do like feedback. And I intended this to be a multi-chapter story, but I don't know where to go from here, if you could give me ideas as well as that feedback, I'd be much obliged. 


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